Eddie Howe delighted with Allan Saint-Maximin’s performance vs Liverpool

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Newcastle United produced a brilliant performance despite defeat to Liverpool, and Eddie Howe was really pleased with Allan Saint-Maximin‘s contribution.

The Frenchman stared for the third game in a row, having come in for the suspended Bruno Guimaraes. He struggled to have a major impact against West Ham and Bournemouth, but looked back to his best on Saturday night.

Saint-Maximin started on the left, and then moved up front following Nick Pope’s red card. Despite Liverpool’s one-man advantage, Maxi was dangerous throughout and produced the type of performance that fans expect from him.

He has had a tough season so far, and his return to the starting XI had not been going to plan.

But his performance against Liverpool was massively encouraging, especially with the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United on the horizon.

Eddie Howe thought Allan Saint-Maximin was at his best vs Liverpool

After the game, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe spoke to BBC Newcastle reporter Matthew Raisbeck, and heaped praise on Saint-Maximin.

“Allan was excellent today,” he said.

“That’s him at his best, really. I thought he was good out wide – he started the game really well and was giving them problems in that area.

“When he went central, when we reshuffled, he gave them problems on transitions.”

Hopefully the start of a good run of form for Saint-Maximin

The Saint-Maximin we saw against Liverpool is the one that made Toon fans fall in love with him. He gets you on the edge of your seat, commits defenders and creates chances.

Miguel Almiron and Alexander Isak had great opportunities to score against the Reds, and it was all down to Saint-Maximin’s ability. Sadly, they were unable to convert them.

The 25-year-old really raised his game on Saturday night, and was the Magpies’ best player. Unfortunately his contribution failed to inspire a comeback, as Newcastle’s unbeaten Premier League run of 17 games came to an end.

But hopefully Saint-Maximin’s performance is a sign of things to come in the future, starting next weekend at Wembley. He has now given himself a real chance of starting against Manchester United.